Many examples are known in which a semiconductor chip is mounted on a printed circuit, in particular a printed circuit of small size. For example, this applies to electronic memory cards, regardless of whether they are of the "contact" type or of the "contactless" type, i.e. of the type in which data and energy are conveyed between the card and the reader by electromagnetic waves.
In a contact type of electronic memory card, the conductive tracks of the printed circuit serve to connect the external contact areas of the card to the terminals of the semiconductor chip so as to form an electronic module. In a contactless type of electronic memory card, the metal-plating serves as the antenna of the card and to connect the card to the semiconductor chip.
For all of these applications and for many other applications, known techniques for forming the conductive tracks of the printed circuit involve depositing a copper pattern on or fixed to a flexible or rigid insulating support, which copper pattern includes copper wires or wires made of some other metal, or in disposing a copper film which is then chemically etched to obtain the desired tracks. The chip is then fixed to the corresponding zone of the printed circuit.
Such techniques for making the printed circuit are relatively costly, whereas the manufacturing cost of the card, and thus of the module including the semiconductor die, must be as low as possible.